Monday, August 14, 2017

The overwhelming choice in the nominees was some kind of return to the original name for the Rangers joint, though opinion seemed divided on the full name or the half-measure. So, we’re leaving both options available.

Choose between any of the four selections. However, if you prefer Choice A), then please follow it up with 1) the naked version or 2) the full throw-back to the Ballpark in Arlington.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

The Giants’ record might make Posey easy to overlook, but his combination of hitting and defense makes him almost a lock to one day join the Hall. In fact, despite being only 30 years old, Posey might already have a Hall of Fame résumé if he retired today.

First-and-third situations are breeding grounds for gimmick plays in high school. Often, the runner on first will attempt to steal second, hoping to draw a throw that will allow the runner to score from third. But defenses will rarely make that throw, so offenses have designed ways to tempt the defense into going after the trail runner while letting the lead runner sneak home. Sometimes, when the pitch is delivered, the base stealer will stop halfway and try to get in a rundown. Sometimes he’ll ...

One of the features of the trips taken by the White Sox this year has been their singing of “The Star Spangled Banner.” After marching around the field under the sirection of Sergeant W.S. Smiley they would line up before the stand and sing two verses of the anthem.
...
One of the Sox players told of their first rehearsal. “Rowland got us together in the clubhouse and asked if any of us knew the words of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’,” he said. “There ...

Late in Palmer’s career, in 1982, he remembers how rookie Cal Ripken—whose father was a longtime player and coach in the Orioles’ organization—batted in the first inning against Britt Burns of the White Sox in a July game. A pitch in that at-bat prompted Ripken to say out loud, “When is somebody going to protect somebody around here?”

Palmer wasn’t thrilled about Ripken’s tone, which was unusual for a rookie, but he noticed that Carlton Fisk was due to lead off the next inning. ...

At first glance, it is a curious addition to my collection of misfit items, the others of which have obvious personal resonance. The headline, INEXPERIENCE FACES GREEN WAVE SOCCER, suggests nothing beyond some sort of small-town newspaper sports preview story, and the byline (Nick DeLeonibus) is that of a name that rings unfamiliar to most. Upon closer inspection, you can ascertain that the piece appeared in the Gallatin (Tenn.) News Examiner in the winter of 1997.

For the present it may be all right that baseball continue. At least it is not mandatory that it cease…but it may be just as well to suggest to the American people that professional baseball is likely to be an incongruity next year.

An American newspaper will sacrifice a great deal of self-respect if it has to print, or does print, box scores and casualty lists in the same issue, says Chicago Tribune.

From a statistical perspective, hopefully you can recognize both the dangers of categorizing continuous data, as well as the attractive features offered by a GAM (and if you want to try a GAM yourself – the code is up here).

From a baseball perspective, the hardest hit balls do increase error rates. Additionally, with my intuition being that errors are often discarded from the perspective of analyzing hitter talent, this type ...

The Dodgers’ magic number is so low, they can clinch a playoff berth before the calendar turns to September. They are 50 games over .500 for the first time since 1953. Still, the schedule insists that the regular season lasts another six weeks.

You do not trade a player like Giancarlo Stanton. You just don’t. You don’t even consider it. That’s an option the Miami Marlins should take off the table regardless of who owns the franchise.

Instead, you do exactly the opposite. You build around him. Around his talent. Around his personality and his presence. You build around the credibility he has accumulated during eight seasons in South Florida.

Somebody needs to tell Terry his priority at this point is developing his youngins, not winning an extra game or two.

“For me, I was trying to get someone on base and maybe create something,” Collins said. “He’ll have his chances down the road, believe me. He’s going to be a good hitter. But [Chapman] absolutely mows down left-handed hitting so I went with a right-handed hitter.”

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

But as with two-homer games on Opening Day, this pace would not hold. Baseball added back four minutes per contest last year, and this year’s games will almost certainly set a new record. Despite a few small changes for the 2017 season—requiring managers to decide more promptly whether to challenge an umpire’s call and making intentional walks automatic—the average nine-inning contest is now 3 hours, 5 minutes—the longest average in baseball history and up five minutes from last year. That’s ...

For the next 16 days, the Marlins can present contending teams with an alluring possibility: Trade for the hottest hitter alive, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound machine whose 10 home runs in his last 11 games give him a Major League Baseball-leading 43 this season. Stanton cleared waivers on Sunday, multiple sources told Yahoo Sports, allowing the Marlins to deal him to any team through the end of August.

Over the span of 36 hours and two Boston Red Sox games, this broadcast will feature compelling stories from Dana-Farber patients, doctors, researchers and nurses, celebrity guests and athletes, inspiring people all over the world to contribute to Dana-Farber’s lifesaving mission.

“He’s that good,” second baseman Dee Gordon said. “He’s one of the best players in the game. And he’s healthy. He’s killing people. He was averaging like 35 homers and he didn’t even play 150 games those years. For him to be able to play this whole year is pretty cool.”

In August, Zimmer is 0-for-22. He has been sitting out more games against lefty pitching as Francona doesn’t want to put too much pressure on the rookie.

A major difference between Frazier and Zimmer is the latter is a far superior outfielder, a huge upgrade in center field. He is 13-of-14 in stolen bases. While the 24-year-old rookie had a brain belch where he didn’t run out a pop up, he usually has impressed with his ...

Both of Duquette’s deals this July fit into that same category, and received a collective ho-hum from me and much of the fan base, Of course, acquiring shortstop Tim Beckham looks so far like a stroke of Duquette genius, and Jeremy Hellickson has been solid in two of his three starts.

And, so, I suppose it’s no harm, no foul if Duquette makes another deal this month to acquire a player that can be eligible for a potential playoff roster (trades ...